How to Create Interesting Interior Concept Art for Video Games

Creating compelling interiors isn’t just about making pretty images. It takes considered and intentional design, and an understanding of player psychology and how they use and feel about a space.

When designing interiors for video games, one of the biggest challenges is guiding the player. How can you make players understand they have to go through a certain door, or down the left corridor rather than the right? How do they know, in a huge city, which direction to travel to reach their goal? These are not just artistic decisions, but design ones that affect how players experience the game and the world around them.

In this blog, we’ll explore what makes an effective interior concept design, and how concept artists can help players navigate and understand spaces. We’ll also look at how storytelling, lighting, composition, and set dressing all work together to make interiors believable, functional, and emotional.

Understanding the Purpose of the Space

When starting out, one of the most important things a concept artist can do is establish the what the function of the space is. It needs to be understood early, so that design decisions can be made based around it. It’s no good deciding what a space is half-way through the concept art process.

A few fundamental questions you can ask early on are:

• What is this space, or what might it have been used for in the past?
• Is this environment dangerous for the player, or is it meant to be a safe area?
• Is the player just travelling through or is it an important spot in the story?

A space’s function sets the tone for its design. For example, a grand throne room will be designed differently if it is still in use versus if it has been abandoned for centuries. A safe zone in a survival game will look and feel very different from an ambush-ready warehouse in a shooter. Clarifying the role of the space early keeps the design consistent and helps ensure that every design decision serves gameplay.

Narrative and Environmental Storytelling

A great interior doesn’t just exist as a background. It should communicate narrative information through its design and details. Strong concept artists keep the story and gameplay goals in mind while building out interiors, weaving in elements that help players understand the space at a glance.

For instance, an abandoned city might have evacuation pamphlets scattered across the floor, broken signage, and barricaded doors. These small choices give context and tell a story without words. They inform the player whether the space is hostile, neutral, or safe. A tavern, on the other hand, should immediately announce its purpose through set dressing: long wooden tables scarred by years of use, mounted hunting trophies, shelves of well-worn tankards and bottles behind the bar, and perhaps side rooms that can be rented out.

These narrative cues help players not just recognize what a space is, but also how to feel about it and whether to be cautious, curious or comforted.

Work from our team at Athena Productions: A great interior doesn’t just exist as a background. It should communicate narrative information through its design and details.

Guiding Players Through Interiors

One of the hardest parts of designing interiors is subtly guiding the player’s path without breaking immersion. Effective interiors consider both composition and psychology to funnel players toward the right choices.

Leading Lines & Composition

Leading lines are a powerful way to guide attention. Power cables, furniture, or even floor patterns can subtly direct players toward doors, staircases, or objectives. Placing focal points in compositionally strong positions (like the rule of thirds) ensures they stand out naturally.

Points of Interest

Points of interest need to be clear but they can exist on a scale of subtle to obvious. A glowing light over a door may scream “go here,” while a larger building framed through a window in a city can be a more subtle directional cue if players are just needing to pass through a building to get there. Interiors can use light sources, texture contrast, or scale to highlight points of interest to the player.

Gameplay Signaling

In gameplay heavy spaces, design also communicates expectations. A casino foyer where a firefight may break out needs elements like cover. Players recognize “chest-high walls” as shorthand for combat readiness but these should be adapted to the setting. In a casino, that could be cleverly placed debris, knocked-over tables, or even the central lobby desk. By blending storytelling with functionality, you maintain immersion while preparing players for what’s to come.

Work from our team at Athena Productions: A casino foyer where a firefight may break out needs elements like cover. Players recognize “chest-high walls” as shorthand for combat readiness but these should be adapted to the setting.

Setting the Mood Through Design

Lighting, color, and material choices aren’t just for aesthetics. They shape how players feel. In horror games, for example, consistency of mood is crucial. A tense abandoned hallway with flickering lights should maintain the same emotional tone throughout - using lighting, color and materials that maintain that worrying atmosphere. A single mismatched room that hasn't taken into consideration a players emotions can break immersion.

That said, intentional contrast can also be a design tool. Transitioning from a dark, oppressive corridor into a brightly lit memory sequence can be jarring in a good way, so long as the shift is purposeful and supports the story. These tonal shifts have to be carefully designed with the player’s psychology in mind.

The abandoned spaces of horror games are a perfect case study. They must convey danger and unease instantly through environmental clues such as decayed furniture, uneven lighting, broken windows. Conversely, a safe hub needs warm lighting, familiar props, and open layouts to signal security.

Work from our team at Athena Productions: Lighting, color, and material choices aren’t just for aesthetics. They shape how players feel. In horror games, for example, consistency of mood is crucial.

Practical Examples in Interior Concept Art

Let’s look at how these principles play out in specific scenarios:

• The Crypt Lair: In one concept image, stairs and lighting guide players toward an exit, suggesting escape from a nightmare. But tension builds because a creature lurks just around the corner. Lighting highlights both the exit and the monster, splitting attention and creating suspense. Meanwhile, “chest-high walls” are reimagined as stone sarcophagi, fitting the crypt setting while providing logical cover.

• The Security Room: Players may only pass through this room quickly to meet an NPC or trigger an event elsewhere, but the interior they go through should instantly convey its function. Surveillance monitors, radios crackling with chatter, a wall of guns and military armor, and a desk with reports all help tell the story of what this space is and why it matters - as well as a point of interest using a red light in a mostly monochromatic room helps to attract the player to where to go next.

• The Casino Foyer: A space designed for potential combat needs to reflect danger without breaking immersion. Instead of generic concrete street barriers, logical props like plants, sofas and lobby desks serve as cover while reinforcing the setting.

These examples show how interiors work on multiple levels: they guide movement, set mood, and support storytelling.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even strong concepts can fall short if they ignore player psychology and gameplay. Some common pitfalls include:

• Flat lighting that makes environments hard to read.

• Overcrowding with too many details, which overwhelms the player.

• Inconsistent moods that break immersion without reason.

• Illogical props, like placing outdoor barriers in luxury interiors.

• Lack of landmarks, leaving players disoriented in larger spaces.

By keeping narrative, function, and navigation at the forefront, these issues can be avoided.

Final Thoughts

Creating interesting interior concept art is about more than just creating stunning images. It’s about blending storytelling, functionality, and player psychology into a coherent design.

By defining a space’s purpose, layering in narrative clues, guiding players subtly, and carefully managing mood, concept artists can shape how players move, feel, and think as they explore the games world. From a security room packed with details to a crypt lair filled with tension, every interior has the potential to enhance immersion and gameplay.

When done right, interiors don’t just look beautiful, they help to tell stories, direct players, and make game worlds come alive.

If you’re looking to craft memorable game interiors, our concept art studio Athena Productions is here to bring your worlds to life with expert design, storytelling, and player-focused functionality. Get in touch with our team today!